Justice Department to review security after LAX tragedy

Nov. 4, 2013
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Paul Ciancia / FBI handout via AFP/Getty Images

by Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY

by Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY

Security will be reviewed at Los Angeles International Airport and other airports across the nation following last week's deadly shooting at the sprawling facility, Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday.

Holder also said that investigators were looking more deeply into what led the alleged gunman to target Transportation Security Administration officers in the Friday attack, which left one officer dead.

A rambling message was found among Paul Ciancia's belongings, which allegedly expressed extreme anti-government sentiments and intentions to target TSA personnel.

Holder said there was a need for "a fuller understanding'' of what prompted the fatal shooting in which Ciancia also was wounded.

"Whatever the motivations, it certainly does not justify these kinds of actions,'' Holder said. Ciancia, 23, was shot by airport police and remained hospitalized under heavy guard Monday.

The FBI said he had a handwritten letter stating that he made the conscious decision to try to kill multiple TSA officers and "instill fear in your traitorous minds."

The unemployed motorcycle mechanic who recently moved to Los Angeles from the small, blue-collar town of Pennsville, N.J., had a roommate drop him at LAX on Friday just moments before he pulled a .223-caliber assault rifle from his duffel bag and opened fire. In addition to the one TSA fatality, three people were wounded, including two TSA workers.

Officials do not believe that the roommate knew of the shooter's plans.

Ciancia, who faces charges of murder of a federal officer and committing violence at an international airport, could be sentenced to death if convicted.

Ciancia is accused of walking into the airport's Terminal 3, pulling the assault rifle from a duffel bag and firing repeatedly at 39-year-old TSA officer Gerardo Hernandez, who was checking boarding passes on the first floor. Ciancia went up an escalator, turned back to see Hernandez move and returned to shoot him again, according to surveillance video reviewed by investigators.

He then fired on two other uniformed TSA employees and an airline passenger, who all were wounded, as he moved methodically through the security checkpoint to the passenger gate area before airport police shot him as panicked travelers hid in stores and restaurants.

Investigators recovered a rambling message from the bag Ciancia was carrying, which detailed "a desire to kill multiple TSA employees" and referred to "his concerns about a New World Order," or NWO, according to an FBI search warrant released Monday.

Two federal law enforcement officials, who are not authorized to comment publicly but who was familiar with contents of the message, said it was written in way that the author expected his own life to be taken in the incident.

"This was clearly a suicide mission,'' one of the officials said. "He did not expect to walk away from this.''

Ciancia, who was shot in the face, survived an exchange of gunfire with police. He reportedly has remained unconscious and is under 24-hour guard.

In recent days, according to one of the officials, the New Jersey family of the suspect had become worried about his emotional well-being and called local police who relayed those concerns to Los Angeles authorities.

The official said Los Angeles police reportedly made contact with the suspect's roommates who indicated that Ciancia appeared to be OK.

A federal law enforcement official said the assault-type rifle used in the airport attack is believed to have been purchased legally from a Los Angeles-area dealer.

More than 100 rounds of ammunition were recovered from a bag the suspect is alleged to have carried into the airport.

TSA Administrator John Pistole said the agency will need to work with each airport's police agency "to see how we'll go about in providing the best possible security."

The shooting temporarily halted traffic at the nation's third-busiest airport, stranding thousands of passengers and causing dozens of flights to be diverted to other airports. More than 1,500 flights and 167,000 passengers were affected nationwide, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The FBI searched the Sun Valley residence where Ciancia lived, and also searched his roommate's car. Agents discovered an LG cellphone without a battery that they believe belongs to Ciancia, one search warrant stated. An LG battery was found near Ciancia after the shootings.

Hernandez, a three-year veteran of the TSA, moved to the U.S. from El Salvador at age 15, married his sweetheart, Ana, on Valentine's Day in 1998 and had two children.

The TSA said the other two officers wounded in the attack - James Speer, 54, and Tony Grigsby, 36 - were released from the hospital.

Brian Ludmer, a Calabasas High School teacher, remained in fair condition at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and will need surgery for a gunshot wound to the leg. Two other people suffered injuries trying to evade the gunman, but weren't shot.

The FBI was still looking into Ciancia's past, but investigators said they had not found evidence of previous crimes or any run-ins with the TSA. They said he had never applied for a job with the agency.

Ciancia's family issued a statement Monday.

"We, like most Americans, were shocked and numbed by the tragic events of last Friday. We acknowledge the need to understand what happened and why it happened. To that end, we as the Ciancia family have fully cooperated with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies over the last several days."

The statement, ready by attorney John Jordan outside the Pennsville Police Department, also offered condolences to Hernandez's family and friends.

"By all accounts, Officer Hernandez was an exemplary member of the law enforcement community and a good family man," the statement read. "Our hearts go out to his family and many others who grieve his passing."

Ciancia's family also said they hoped the wounded would "experience quick and full recoveries," and regretted the inconvenience that travelers and airport workers experienced.

The statement concluded with support for Ciancia.

"Paul is our son and brother. We will continue to love him and care for him and support him during the difficult times ahead. While we do not mean to minimize the grief and distress experienced by many other families, we hope that the public will understand that this is a very difficult time for our family, too."